Aside the ex-Hertz Team JOTA Porsche 963 and the 1957 Maserati 250F V12 displayed on the M24 – Museum of Motorsport stand, other cars that have raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans are waiting to be admired. Strap yourself in for a virtual tour of Pavilion 7.3 at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre!

As is befitting, we begin our visit with a 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning hypercar: the #51 Ferrari 499P of Ferrari AF Corse. This is the car in which Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi scooped the 2025 FIA Hypercar World Endurance Drivers' Championship. It can be viewed on the stand of celebrated watchmaker Richard Mille. A 1970 Ferrari 512 S and a 1972 312 PB are among the models surrounding the hypercar.

A wonderful surprise is in store for visitors to the JMB Classic stand: the BMW V12 Le Mans. This LMP1 competed in the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans, driven by Hans-Joachim Stuck, Steve Soper and Tom Kristensen. This 66th running of the French endurance classic was the second appearance in the race of the man who went on to win a record nine times.
The BMW V12 Le Mans had been put together in Didcot (UK) by a select group of 34 specialists employed by BMW Motorsport and Williams Motorsport. The six-litre engine, derived from the V12 that triumphed in 1995, was however built in Munich. Team Rafanelli ran the two cars in 1998. The #1 BMW V12 LM was forced to retire after three hours of the race due to vibration in the front and rear axles.

The #1 BMW V12 LM is displayed at Rétromobile alongside the #7 Peugeot 908 HDI of Team Peugeot Total, driven by Nicolas Minassian, Marc Gené and Jacques Villeneuve at the 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 1997 Formula One world champion was making his Le Mans début that year for the French carmaker who was Audi’s chief rival for the second time. Three 908s were entered following an overhaul of the 2007 model, most notably to the car’s aerodynamics. The trio of Minassian-Gené-Villeneuve finished second on the same lap as the triumphant Audi R10 TDi.

Fans of the McLaren F1 GTR will be able to feast their eyes on not one, but two magnificent models at Rétromobile 2026! Firstly, there is the #44 entered in 1997 by Team Lark McLaren. Akihiko Nakaya, Gary Ayles and Keiichi Tshuchiya teamed up in this long-tailed F1 GTR. Sadly, it was forced to retire from the race. The car has since been restored and homologated for the road. Registered in the UK, it will shortly be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s.

The other McLaren F1 GTR was chassis 025R that also competed in the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans. Entered by Gulf Team Davidoff, the #39 car was driven by Ray Bellm, Andrew Gilbert Scott and Masanori Sekiya who, two years earlier, became the first Japanese driver to win at Le Mans. During the race, the car suffered a water leak that caused the engine to overheat, resulting in a spectacular fire on the Mulsanne Straight. It was sent back to the factory for a complete rebuild.

An LMGT1 takes pride of place on the Fiskens Historic Automobiles stand: the #007 Aston Martin DBR9 that raced in the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans, driven by a trio of GT specialists: Tomas Enge, Darren Turner and Andrea Piccini. The car was entered under the Aston Martin Racing banner that brought together the British carmaker, Prodrive who designed and prepared the DBR9s, and Frédéric Dor, the man behind the Ferrari 550 who got the DBR9 project off the ground. Aston Martin intended to see off the LMGT1 challenge from Corvette Racing, but the Chevrolet Corvette C6.R won the day. The #007 finished second in class and sixth overall.

A few metres away stands the #97 Aston Martin Vantage GTE from the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans. Darren Turner, Stefan Mücke and Rob Bell shared the wheel of the LMGTE Pro entry with a special “art car” livery created by Tobias Rehberger. The unique design gave the illusion of movement and speed even when static. “My design for the Aston Martin art car is rooted in my interest in distorted perception and related phenomena like auto moving patterns, optical effects, camouflage and visual confusion,” explained the German artist. However the art car did not reach the chequered flag. Interestingly, the same chassis (GTE-002) had already been treated to special artwork job in 2013 when Gulf ran a design competition.

Staying in the LMGT1 era, we now step back a few years to 2010 and the Ford GT of Marc VDS Racing Team that sported the number 70. Matech Concepts, a Swiss engineering consultancy, was the private initiative behind Ford’s return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car was driven by three Le Mans rookies who, nonetheless, had forged plenty of endurance experience at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. Unfortunately, Bas Leinders, Markus Palttala and Eric De Doncker did not make the finish line.

Finally, we round off our virtual tour with the #71 Ferrari F458 of AF Corse that took part in the 81st 24 Hours of Le Mans (2013). Who recalls that Kamui Kobayashi made his 24 Hours début in the LMGTE Pro class? The Japanese racer who went on to break the lap record at the wheel of the Toyota TS050 Hybrid in 2017 was partnered by two GT specialists in the F458: Toni Vilander and Olivier Beretta. They finished 20th overall and fifth in the LMGTE Pro class.

The Rétromobile show continues until Sunday 1 February. You can book tickets on the official website.